People Can Still Get Uptight Over Grown Men Kissing in the U.K.

From the London Guardian: A video is included in the link.

The UK's advertising regulator has decided not to investigate Heinz's "male kiss" TV ad, despite 215 complaints from viewers that it was offensive and "inappropriate to see two men kissing".

Heinz's TV ad for its new Deli Mayo line, which features two men sharing a brief kiss, has caused an international furore after the food company decided to pull the ad off air after less than a week.

However, the Advertising Standards Authority said today that it will not launch a formal investigation into the complaints about the TV ad.

"The ASA council considered that while some viewers may have personal objections to any portrayal of same sex kissing there was nothing in the content of the advertisement what would constitute a breach of the advertising code," said a spokesman for the ASA.

The Heinz TV ad carried an "ex-kids" restriction, meaning it cannot be shown in or around children's programming, because Heinz Deli Mayo falls foul of Ofcom's TV ad restrictions relating to junk food products.

However, the ASA received a number of complaints saying the ad was inappropriate for children to see or that it prompted awkward conversations about same sex relationships between parents and their kids.

"Even if the ad had not been subject to HFSS restrictions, the ASA would still not have investigated it," said the ASA spokesman.

Heinz UK received around "30 to 40" complaints about the ad and moved to take it off air on Friday June 20, less than a week after it launched on British TV.

Gay advocacy groups, including Stonewall and Gaydar Radio, launched campaigns to have the ad put back on air, urging people to boycott Heinz goods.

In the US, the American Family Association, a powerful Christian group, sent an email alert to its 3.5 million members encouraging them to swamp Heinz's US headquarters with complaints.

Heinz US put out a statement the day after the AFA mobilised its members apologising for its "misplaced attempt at humour", accepting "that this ad was not in accordance with our longstanding corporate policy of respecting everyone's rights and values" – even though the Heinz Deli Mayo commercial was never broadcast on TV in America.

A spokesman for Heinz said that the company had no comment to make on the ASA's decision not to investigate the TV ad.

He added that despite the ad being cleared of breaching the advertising code the company had no plans to put the Heinz Deli Mayo TV commercial back on air.